The Uncommon Cold
by thoughtless dreamer
Summary: It's quite rare for the Fullmetal Alchemist to get sick, but when it happens, who else would be responsible for taking care of him but his little brother? Elricest! Rated for yaoi, language and lemon.


Disclaimer: Do you see Ed and Al going at it regularly? No? Then I don't own it.

Jessie: My God, I've been having the worst writer's block _ever!_

Joh: Aw, poor baby **Huggles**

Jessie: **Sniffles** I've been trying sooo hard to update E.T.U, but I haven't been able to write lately! **Sobs**

Joh: **Kisses** There, there.

Jessie: **Snuggles against Joh** Aishiteru, Imouto.

Joh: Yosh!

**Warning**: You guessed it:

_**WARNING! YAOI AHEAD! WARNING! YAOI AHEAD!**_

_**WARNING! YAOI AHEAD! WARNING! YAOI AHEAD!**_

_**WARNING! YAOI AHEAD! WARNING! YAOI AHEAD!**_

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_Knock, knock._

"Nii-san? Are you up?"

The brunette frowned slightly after a minute; he knew his brother was anything but a morning person, but usually he'd at _least_ respond to his calls. And what did he get in response?

No moaning, no grumbling, and, most importantly, no tell-tale sounds of something being thrown across the room and crashing defiantly.

Finally, with a slightly exasperated sigh, Al barged into Ed's room, full of resolve-- well, entered. It wasn't like he was coming in unannounced or anything, right?

A small smile made itself evident as the younger Elric approached the lump under the covers that was his brother.

"Ed, you've got to get up, you're gonna be late for work," Al said, shaking the body hidden by the covers softly.

No response.

"Ed… Edward, c'mon… I know you hate mornings, but they are, after all, inevitable," Al pressed, shaking Ed with more force. This time he managed to extract a soft whine from somewhere beneath the blankets… Well, at least it was something—

Hang on…

The Full Metal Alchemist might groan, or moan, or even beg for five more minutes (or five more hours), but he most _certainly_ did _not_ whine-- _ever._

"Nii…san?" Al asked hesitantly, gently pulling the covers down in attempts to excavate the sleeping teen from the labyrinth of blankets. Al's intent gaze softened as he was met by a rare sight.

Edward Elric-- not only well known for having obtained the title of a State Alchemist at only twelve years old, but famous for performing the first successful Human Transmutation in history; a child prodigy-- was quite obviously sick. The flushed blonde was curled up under the blankets, clutching them tightly to his chest, which rose in uneven, ragged breaths.

"Ed, are you okay?" Al asked; his voice dropping to a near whisper. The brunette sat down on the edge of the bed, staring worriedly at the older teen. Eventually he moved a hand to rest on Ed's forehead, withdrawing it quickly, as if scorched.

"You're burning up…" Al noted quietly as he gently stroked Ed's bangs away from his face, plastered to his forehead with perspiration.

Finally, Ed opened one golden eye halfway, slowly raising his gaze to meet concerned amber ones.

"A-Al? What… time is it?" Ed croaked, making a face immediately after he'd spoken; he was obviously surprised by the sound of his voice.

"It's about seven forty five," Al trailed off, interrupted by his brother's curse. Ed struggled to sit up, his arms shakily supporting the weight of his body. Immediately Al placed a hand on Ed's chest, gently forcing him back down onto his back. Ed blinked at the younger in confusion.

"Dammnit, Al, lemme up… gotta go to work," Ed insisted weakly, though it seemed he'd already exerted himself too far, as he closed his eyes, panting heavily.

"_You're_ not going _anywhere_," Al replied firmly, his hand still on Ed's chest lest the exhausted blonde attempt to get up once more. He slowly pulled his hand back when he felt Ed's entire frame go limp, and saw that his eyes remained close.

"…Feel like shit," Ed mumbled, rubbing his eyes tiredly with the back of his hand. Al hummed softly in response, gently stroking Ed's warm cheek.

"…_Hate_ bein' sick," Ed continued, sounding surprisingly aggravated despite his feeble condition.

"I know," Al answered unconsciously, too deeply engrossed in thought to say much more. Thoughts like _'How much sleep has Nii-san been getting these past few weeks? Has he been eating well? How often has he been working overtime?'_ were running through his head simultaneously, and he tried to answer them all one at a time.

Al had so often chastised Ed for never taking good enough care of his body; he couldn't even remember the first time he had mentioned it to the older blonde. So, as it ended up, Al was always the one looking out for both of their well-being. It was Ed's job to protect them from… well, basically everything else.

"Ed, what time did you come home last night?" Al asked suddenly, turning his focus back to his brother. He waited patiently for Ed to process the question, watching Ed's eyes re-open and blink slowly as he tried to gather his thoughts.

"…I 'unno… round, what… two thirty, three?" Ed muttered at last; apparently the only thing the blonde had in mind was going back to sleep. Al's expression turned to one of annoyance.

"Nii-san, I woke up to get a drink around five this morning; it was wet out," Al said before raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Did you walk home in the rain?" Al asked, his hand already moving to finger Ed's messy braid. Ed didn't reply, but Al felt Ed's hair was slightly damp, confirming his suspicions.

A sudden thought struck him, and the brunette pulled the cocoon of blankets down further –ignoring the whines of protest coming from the smaller teen– and to his dismay, he took in Ed's wrinkled, damp clothes from yesterday.

There was an uneasy silence, before:

"_You—Slept—In—Your—**Wet—**Clothes."_

It wasn't nearly as much a question as it was a statement, and from the tone of Al's voice, Ed immediately knew he was _waaay _beyond saving It wasn't very often that his younger brother got angry, but when he did… Ed shuddered slightly, too nervous to continue the thought; he didn't need to. He knew from past experiences.

"Look, Al; it was late, I was dead, fucking tired, and I barely managed to make it to the bed-- you would've probably forgotten to change your clothes, too," Ed grumbled, though both he and his brother were very well aware that Al – being the more health-oriented of the two– would _never_ forget to change before bed, no matter how 'dead tired' he was.

Al sighed again-- this time in frustration as he raked his fingers through his short brown hair.

"Nii-san, sometimes I just can't understand you…" he trailed off helplessly, a look of disappointment taking over his features; that very same one Ed hated so much to be seen worn on his younger brother's face.

"Aw, c'mon, Al… it's just a cold; I'm not gonna die or anything. I'll be up and at 'em again in no time," Ed said as brightly as he possibly could; with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

"…Yeah… okay," Al replied, smiling wearily at his (anything but) exuberant brother.

With some assistance from the younger alchemist, Ed was brought up to a sitting position and, while he concentrated on staying up without swaying, Al went through their shared dresser, pulling out the most casual things of his brother's (and his own) he could find.

Al retuned with a pair of loose black slacks of Ed's and one of his own shirts; a white blouse that would be considerably larger on Ed-- of course, he'd never say that to the short-tempered blonde's _face_. Al smiled slightly at the strange noise Ed made that sounded just vaguely like a thank you as he took the clean, dry clothes offered to him.

Ed yanked off his shirt, letting it fall onto the floor by his bedside. He closed his eyes tightly and interlaced his fingers before slowly reaching his arms up into a languid stretch, showing off his well-toned chest. Al looked away upon feeling the heat rising to his cheeks. Ed yawned widely before opening his eyes, finding the sudden silence strange.

"Mmh? You okay there, Al? You look a little flushed-- you'd better not get sick, too," Ed said with a slight chuckle, letting his arms fall lazily to his sides. Al nodded quickly, disgusted with himself-- this was his brother, for heavens sake; why was he so embarrassed to see him… undressed?

Al gulped, and, after mentally chastising himself for thinking about Ed like this, glanced back towards the bed… just in time to see Ed stripping himself of his pants.

"Aw, fuck, I was totally _drenched_… Al, could ya get me a new pair of…ah…" Ed trailed off, blinking in surprise at the brunette currently rummaging through the dresser.

"…Wow, you're quick to catch on," Ed said with a grin, shaking his head slightly as he stripped himself of the last of his clothing and letting it fall into a heap on the pants and shirt already on the floor.

Al focused on keeping his eyes glued to the floor as he walked back to his brother, boxers in hand. He let his arm drop to his side when he felt Ed grab them, and kept his eyes trained on the simple pattern of the carpeting. He heard a slight chuckle from Ed after a moment of silence, and lifted his gaze slightly.

"What's so funny…?"

"Nothin', Al, it's just sorta funny that you're all embarrassed and modest about me changing in front of you… it's kinda cute," Ed replied, his voice laced with amusement. Al didn't have to look up to know his brother was wearing that half-smile half-smirk he always wore when he felt superior over someone.

Al felt his cheeks burn crimson and pouted cutely, but said nothing, instead moving closer to yank off Ed's hair tie-- smirking to himself at the nearly inaudible _'ow'_ that he managed to get out of his brother; his own little revenge. He slipped his fingers between the strands of golden hair, gently pulling them out of their braid so that they were instead splayed across Ed's shoulders.

"Heh; thanks, Al," Ed said, unconsciously flicking his hair back over his shoulder. Al held in a small grin; Ed had absolutely _no idea_ how feminine he looked when it came to his hair, heck, he even had the same small ticks girls had; pushing their hair back from sheer habit and toying with the strands when they were in their faces. To put it simply, he thought his brother looked… really cute.

Al blinked as he registered what he'd just thought, and mentally cursed, somewhat in a panic now. He wasn't supposed to be thinking like this. It was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

"Hey, Al, are you okay? You've sorta been blanking out a lot," Ed said with a slight frown, tilting his head to the side like a confused puppy.

Al gulped hard.

'_Wrong, wrong, **wrong, wrong, wrong!**'_

He _wasn't_ supposed to notice how cute Ed looked when he reminded him of a puppy. Nor was he supposed to notice how hot Ed looked with his hair down. And, possibly most importantly of all, he was _not_ supposed to notice just how all-around damn sexy Ed was.

…

…

…Well, shit.

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Al was downstairs in the kitchen, currently busying himself with making Ed tea. The secretly humiliated brunette had advised Ed to get some much-needed sleep, and to his surprise, the blonde had actually agreed, letting him off much easier than he'd expected him to.

There hadn't been any noise coming from Ed's bedroom for the past hour, and Al figured it was about time to get _something_ warm into Ed's system. He doubted Ed would be up for eating anything, so tea was the next best thing, right?

With a soft sigh, Al was shaken from his thoughts by the abrupt whistle from the tea kettle. He quickly removed the tea pot from the flames and poured the boiling water into an already-prepared mug. Once he'd slipped half a teaspoon of sugar into it, he made his way up the stairs to his sick companion's room.

"Nii-san, I brought you some-- Ed, what are you doing up?" Al exclaimed in surprise, his wide eyes focused on the teen sitting up in the bed reading.

"I couldn't sleep at all… I was too cold," Ed shrugged, and for the first time Al noticed the blonde was shivering.

Al hurried to the bedside, exchanging the tea for Ed's book.

"I don't understand; how can you be cold with five layers of blankets?" Al asked; sounding plainly dismayed as he glared at the comforters as though it was their fault Ed was cold.

"Well, I am," Ed said with a frown, before bringing the steaming mug to his lips.

Ed's eyes snapped open just as he downing the remainder of his tea upon feeling two arms slip around his waist before a warm body pressed up hesitantly against his back. His turned his head slightly to see Al smiling nervously at him.

"Um, is…is this okay?" Al nearly whispered, a heavy blush staining his face. Ed blinked slowly before grinning.

"Yeah; it's more than okay. Thanks, Al," Ed said gratefully, relaxing back against his brother. A few more minutes and the blond was fast asleep, snoring gently.

Al was so busy concentrating on keeping his breathing steady –trying to slow his heart that was beating a mile a minute due to the sudden more-than-slightly-intimate contact– that he didn't notice Ed's slight shifting as he slept. He did, however, become all too aware of the motion when Ed's back brushed gently against his lap.

A soft whimper escaped Al's lips, and he hurriedly bit his cheek, afraid to let out any more sounds for fear that he would wake Ed. He cursed Ed's restless sleeping habits, and prayed for all he was worth that the other would cease his movements before he ended up doing something he'd regret. Thankfully, Ed had stopped moving around for the time being and Al felt himself dozing off.

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It couldn't have been more than merely ten minutes later that Al snapped to attention at a small whimper. Blinking sleepily, he looked down at the blond, now tossing and turning once more. Al was just about to shake him awake when he swore he heard Ed say his name. Pausing, he remained very still, and sure enough he heard his name escape Ed's lips.

"N-not Al… Please, not Al… Don't take him away… from m-me…"

Al's eyes softened when he deciphered what it was exactly that Ed was repeating over and over again; it was only now that he spotted the tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He stroked his brother's head and Edward grew quiet almost immediately at the soft touch. Golden eyes opened slowly to stare up into warm amber ones.

"Hey, you okay?" Al asked; his concern evident at once by the way he spoke. Ed remained silent for a moment, content just to study Al's face.

"Just a nightmare, is all," Ed replied softly. Al didn't have to ask what it had been about-- he knew Ed only really had nightmares about a certain night a while back.

Out of the blue, Ed reached up to touch Al's cheek tenderly, looking thoughtful.

"…I nearly lost you back then," Ed said after a moment, solemn as ever. Al nodded.

"Yeah…"

Slowly Ed pushed himself up and onto his knees so that he was at eye level with the taller alchemist, still gazing into Al's eyes.

"This is all I ever really wanted, ya know," Ed said, a small smile playing on his lips. Al looked at him, confused.

"What? What is?" Ed's smile widened.

"Y'know; living together like this; it's so simple, it's almost boring after all we went through to be able to lead lives like these," Ed joked. Al rolled his eyes.

"Nii-san, I don't think it's _possible _for things to be boring with you around," he sighed, earning himself a chuckle.

"I try, I try," Ed laughed.

"But Nii-san… don't you ever get tired of living with just me? Don't you want a… girlfriend or something?" Al asked timidly. Ed frowned, obviously surprised at this turn of the conversation.

"Al, how could I ever get tired of being with you? It's my responsibility as your older brother to take care of you," Ed said, as if offended by the very thought of choosing some girl's company over Al's.

"But you won't always have to take care of me… living alone with me; that's not what you want, is it, Nii-san? A settled life doesn't quite sound like something that would suit you," Al said, sounding a little worried.

Ed was silent for a moment as he thought, staring unseeingly at the wall behind the other alchemist. Suddenly Al feared that he'd said something to hurt Ed's feelings, until Ed looked up, staring directly into his eyes.

"Al, didn't you ever _once_ think that that might be _exactly_ the kind of lifestyle I wanna lead?" Ed asked quietly, looking away; Al could've sworn he saw a faint pink tinge on Ed's cheeks.

"And what makes you think I wanna _girlfriend?"_ Ed continued, raising an eyebrow at Al, expressing his curiosity. Al felt the heat rush to his cheeks, but he didn't look away.

"Well, whenever we were traveling, you'd always stop to write letters to… to Winry," Al said hesitantly. Ed looked at him strangely before snorting loudly.

"Hah! You think I like _Winry?"_ Ed laughed, only causing Al's blush to darken as he nodded, embarrassed.

"Al, Winry's one of our best friends-- my mechanic, no less; why _wouldn't_ I write to her? 'Sides…" --here, Ed shuddered-- "who'd even _want_ to live in the same house, with her swingin' that fucking wrench around all day," Ed muttered the last bit. Al managed a smile.

"Yeah, I s'pose so…" Al replied, stifling his huge sigh of immense relief.

"And you?" Al looked up curiously.

"Huh?"

"What about you, Al? You got any little crushes your big brother should know about?" Ed asked with a teasing grin. Al felt, for the hundredth time that day that his cheeks were on fire.

"Um—a-actually, I…" Al bit his lip nervously, and turned his gaze away, suddenly very interested in the wall. Ed raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, patiently awaiting Al's reply.

Al was desperately searching for a gentle way to convey to his brother that he _might _just have a little crush on him. Finally, after none had come to mind, Al took a deep breath-- his brother _did_ after all have the right to know it was him.

"Ed, I--" Al stopped and licked his lips nervously. Ed's curious expression turned to one of concern.

"Al, is there something you wanna tell me?" Ed pried, very much aware of Al's discomfort on the subject.

"Ed, I l-love you," Al mumbled. Ed blinked, obviously confused.

"I know that, Al; I love you, too," Ed said, utterly oblivious to Al's confession. Al smiled weakly.

"Well… I think I might kind of love you… a _bit_ too much for it to be considered brotherly love," Al said, picking his words carefully. Ed stared blankly at Al for a moment before his eyes widened as he processed the words. At this point Al was _positive_ Ed could feel the heat radiating from his face. He looked down at the sheets guiltily; he couldn't bear the silence.

Two hands gently took his into their grasp, and Al slowly lifted his head, only to have another pair of lips brush against his own.

"Damn, you have _no_ idea how happy I am to hear that," Ed murmured, a growing smile on his lips despite the light blush tingeing his face. Al blinked in confusion.

"Wh…what? You mean…" Al trailed off, not daring to hope. Ed laughed.

"Well, what did you expect, Al, that'd I hate you?" Ed grinned, rolling his eyes in amusement. _'Yes_," Al replied in his mind, but was still too shocked to reply.

"Do I really have to spell it out for ya, Al? _I—love—you—too,"_ Ed said, his grin only broadening.

Al was sure that he was sleeping and this was a really, really good dream… or his heart had stopped beating and he'd died and gone to heaven, because that was the _only_ way this could _ever _be happening.

Ed leaned in closer questioningly, as if asking permission to kiss Al properly. Al closed his eyes and let Ed close the gap.

The feeling of Ed's warm lips against his own assured Al that this was no dream. Shyly the brunette kissed back, instinctively slipping his arms around Ed's neck to bring him closer. Their foreheads touched and Al was reminded of Ed's high temperature. Al pulled away reluctantly.

"Nii-san, you're sick, are you sure you're up to thi--" Al's comment turned into a loud moan as Ed began sucking on the side of his neck. Ed only pulled away once he was sure he'd left a large red mark for the world to see.

"So you'd just _leave_ me like this-- cold and alone? I'm still cold, ya know," Ed whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to the front of Al's throat.

A mere second later found a befuddled Ed pinned beneath a smirking Alphonse.

"Really…? I think _I_ could help warm you up," Al said in a husky whisper that Ed never would have believed possible to come from the seemingly innocent brunette; the voice sent shivers down Ed's spine.

Al felt Ed's tongue pressing against his lips, begging for entrance and he immediately parted his lips, allowing him to plunge his tongue into the warm, moist cavern that was Al's mouth.

Once they'd parted from their kiss there was an impatient flurry of clothes; leaving both Ed and Al only in their underwear, once again kissing as if there was no tomorrow.

Ed had gained back the position of dominance over the younger Elric, straddling his waist and occupied licking roughly up Al's neck, eliciting pleasured gasps from the lips of the alchemist beneath him. The blonde's hands explored Al's body inquisitively; running them gently down his bare sides and back up his chest.

"O-oh God, Ed," Al whimpered, his excitement rising with every little tease from the teen on top of him. Ed leaned down to press wet, open-mouthed kisses to Al's chest before pulling back to smirk at the shuddering boy whose eyes were half-closed, darkened with lust.

The next thing Al knew, Ed had taken his length into his mouth and he was moaning longingly. His hands shook as he blindly searched for something to grasp, eventually reaching down to entwine his fingers in Ed's golden locks, unconsciously pushing his head down further. Ed chuckled softly at Al's excited antics and felt his entire body tense and shudder at the unfamiliar –albeit pleasurable– vibrations sent from his throat.

Al moaned unhappily as Ed pulled away, but it was somewhat muffled when Ed slipped three fingers between his lips. Al froze for a moment looking up; confused amber eyes met reassuring gold ones and he uncertainly licked up each one, the action becoming stronger as he felt a shiver run up Ed's arm.

Ed reluctantly removed his fingers, placing them at Al's entrance before slipping one wet digit in. Al made a face of mild discomfort, wincing as another finger wriggled in along with the first but sighing as they were pumped slowly in and out. Ed leant down to capture Al's lips as he added the last finger quickly and hurriedly splayed all three digits; Al whimpered into Ed's mouth.

Ed hooked the brunette's legs around his waist as he positioned himself.

"Are you sure about this, Al…?" He asked quietly, placing a chaste kiss on his lips. Al looked up at Ed before smiling and nodding slightly. Ed gazed into Al's honey eyes seriously as he grasped his sides.

"I love you, brother mine," Ed murmured fondly just before he thrust into the body beneath him, immediately letting out a sigh of pleasure.

Al tensed up, gritting his teeth as he fought to stifle the sobs rising in his throat. Ed stroked Al's bangs out of his face, leaning down to press a loving kiss on his forehead. Once he'd steadied himself enough, he removed his left hand from Al's hip to lace his fingers with Al's right one, giving his hand a slight, comforting squeeze.

Gradually the blonde began a slow rhythm and smiled to himself when he felt Al moving with him, despite the expression of excruciating pain on his features.

"Do you want me to stop?" Ed asked hesitantly upon hearing a dry sob escape Al's lips. The brunette shook his head vigorously, blinking back stinging tears. Ed nodded, pulling Al's body closer before thrusting into him again.

This time not a sound of pain, but a long, loud moan of pleasure escaped Al's lips.

"Oh _God, _Ed… Do that…again," Al begged between heavy pants. Ed grinned down at Al before thrusting into him the same way again; the brunette surprised the older alchemist when he arched up off the bed, pressing up close against his chest.

Still focusing on Al's features, Ed blindly reached down, stroking his brother's length softly; loving each and every little sound of bliss the younger alchemist made.

Al's hands managed to find their way to the back of the blonde's head, and he tangled his fingers in the silky golden strands.

Ed drove into Al again, his rhythm quickening with each thrust and his hand's pumps growing rougher; drinking in the sight of Al's face twisted into an expression of sweet ecstasy, repeating his name over and over again in short gasps.

With a groan Ed slammed into Al forcefully just as Al raised his hips to create more friction; resulting in the direct hit to his brother's sweet spot.

"_Edward_!_"_ Al screamed, releasing into Ed's hand; Ed's eyes closed in bliss as his release came mere seconds later. Using what very little energy he had left (it didn't help that he was sick) Ed pulled out from Al before collapsing beside him; immediately tangled their legs together.

Exhausted amber eyes gazed up into loving molten gold ones. Ed felt Al's chest rising and falling with labored breaths and his heart just starting to slow from its erotic beat.

"You'd better… be feeling... pretty… damn warm by now," Al managed to mumble; rewarded with a soft chuckle and a gentle kiss placed sloppily on the corner of his mouth (accompanied with a slight nibble on his bottom lip).

"Don't worry; your efforts were most certainly not in vain," Ed grinned; still panting heavily; currently focused on carefully cleaning his hand; making sure every last trace of his brother's essence was gone.

Al closed his eyes and let his whole body melt into the mattress in resignation; a smile twitching on his lips as he felt Ed's lips trailing softly against the side of his neck. He tilted his head to the side, allowing the blonde better access. The pleasurable ministrations sent little waves of pleasure down his spine and he sighed in contentment.

Eventually he heard a loud yawn, and felt two arms; one soft and warm, the other hard and cold wrap around his waist possessively, and Ed's face nuzzle against the back of his neck.

"G'night, Alu," Ed said sleepily, his eyes quickly fluttering closed.

"Night," Al whispered back, closing his eyes as well, completely at peace.

Well, that is until—

"_Achoo!"_

…

…

"Well, damn… I guess I got you sick, after all..."

"_Nii-saaaaan!"_

**_Owari_**

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Jessie: **Squeals** Yay, I'm sooo happy with how this fic came out; I worked so hard on it!

Joh: Aww, your first Elricest ficcy; you're growing up!

Jessie: Yosh; I'm a fool for both Elricest fluff _and_ smut.

Joh: **Smirks** I think you like the smut, Nee-san…

Jessie: **Blushes** Shut up!

Joh: **Sniggers**

Jessie: **Sighs** Whatever… hope you enjoyed; please review! Oh, yeah. And I don't wanna hear any complaints about the pairing; if you don't dig the couple, why are you even bothering reading this? Honestly, I don't understand some people… **Shakes head slightly **N'ways, thanks for reading!

(If you've ever attempted to perform alchemy by clapping your hands, REVIEW! If you haven't, try now and REVIEW!)

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/


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